Testing Women, Testing the Fetus: The Social Impact of Amniocentesis in America

by Rayna Rapp

Rich with the voices and stories of participants, these touching, firsthand accounts examine how women of diverse racial, ethnic, class and religious backgrounds perceive prenatal testing, the most prevalent and routinized of the new reproducing technologies. Based on the author's decade of research and her own personal experiences with amniocentesis, Testing Women, Testing the Fetus explores the "geneticization" of family life in all its complexity and diversity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Anthropology, Sociology, Disability, Academic, Science, Gender Studies

376 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 1999

Reviews

[Megan]

i lied and said this a year ago but i promise i read it this time

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Needs updating especially in terminology used

[Max]

didn’t realize this was from 1998 which given that the subject is a medical intervention, made me unsure how relevant some info might be now. the level of condescension towards all of the many different subjects felt disappointing and distracting. it was also very weird how quick she was to draw sweeping conclusions about different groups of once-pregnant women based on her research in one city over many years.. which yes, was very interesting, but hardly wide enough to justify many of the statements, which often came across offensive . also an effort was made w disability but...... not an especially fruitful one. This was kind of a hot mess. I liked the excerpts from the interviews though, she did cool research

[Chris Friend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent text on a difficult but vital (no pun intended) element of the social and personal effects of technological advances on the process of birth and the ability to decide to abort it.

Factual and forthright at times, bitterly personal at others, this is among the select few nonfiction texts that can pick up a reader from any knowledge level and carry that reader through a rich and fulfilling exploration of a complex and often misunderstood process.

The controversial nature of the topic is addressed but used to inform, not incite. The personal nature of it is used to reify, elucidate, and elaborate. As a result, the text can be distressingly difficult to read, particularly in Chapter 9, where discussions of women who chose termination of an abnormal fetus took the foreground there is simply no way to handle that material gently; however, the rough and exposed quoted confessions from interviews are touching, poignant, and heart-wrenching.

I never thought a nonfiction book about a medical technology would make me want to weep. This did, and I am ever so thankful I took the time to share in the experiences of these women.

[Maggie Mayhem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting ethnography of amniocentesis that examines the motivations, interpretations, implications, and counseling processes behind a controversial medical procedure that can diagnose some genetic conditions in a child prior to birth, largely to inform the decision of whether or not to continue a pregnancy but also to intervene or better prepare for a special delivery. This book has no easy answers about the fraught relationship between a woman's right to continue or discontinue a pregnancy and the way it relates to gender selection and disability rights. A very good book for anyone supporting people through pregnancies to learn more about the history of both the procedure and genetic counseling as well as the way people from different cultures and ways of living relate to this medical technology.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rayna Rapp did the fieldwork for this book for something like 14 years. The result is a tremendously detailed book of sprawling scope. It's also 300 pages, somewhat redundant in areas, a tremendously slow read -- but if you're interested in the sociology of medicine, the medicalization of women's bodies, or reproductive technology, it's well worth it. (Also, the 15-page conclusion basically sums up the entire book. FYI!)

[Draco3seven Crawdady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough read especially for a guy... if you can get past all the gender specificity and analyze it from a broader general standpoint it makes some interesting social cultural points on bio-med, feminist contradiction and divide, disability rights, "race" and class...

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read from previous Medical Anthropology class. Would recommend to most people, especially anthro/culture driven folks.